Regenerated cellulose inking machine ribbon



Patented Sept. 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REGENERATED CELLULOSEINKING MACHINE RIBBON William W. McElrath, Roanoke, Va., assignor toCello-Rite Ribbon Corporation N 0 Drawing;

Application November 1, 1935, Serial No. 47,905

19 Claims. (cl. 197-172) This invention relates to improvements inregenerated cellulose writing machine ribbons, particularly ribbonsadapted to be inked and used on machines such as typewriters,bookkeeping machines, multigraphing, recording, adding and pose areusually narrow strips of cloth, this cloth being woven either of cotton,-or true silk, the

cotton fibers being of a vegetable cellulose in I origin, and those ofthe silk of animal and nitrogeneous cellulose. These strips or ribbonsare impregnated or padded with ink-compounds and admixtures 'ofchemicals, including amorphous carbon, some dyes, oils and otheringredients, de-

pending upon the color of record desired.

In conventional typewriter or machine ribbon cloth andthe like thecellulose forming the base structure of the fibers is composed ofvegetable or animal fibers as above pointed out, and the cloth properlyimpregnated with soluble inkcompounds, or other recording transferagents. Microscopical examinations of these ribbons show a greatnumber'of epidermal scales and protruding broken portions or theup-turned ends of the fibers themselves; these protrusions of courseincrease the covering-power per'unit weight of yarn for the woven cloth,and isadvantageous from a textile standpoint; but this disruption is notbeneficial in woven cloth intended for ribbon usage as it tends to holdopen the yarn between adjacent filling and warp threads, thus creatingminute openings or interstices in and between the threads forming thecloth proper. Observation seems to indicate that by these minuteopenings, more oxidation takes place than should, and this may accountin part for poor absorption and rapid drying out of the ink-compounds,besides impairing the wearing-qualities of the ribbon.

My invention relates to the usage of a regenerated cellulose yarn(commonly known as artificial silk) as the base material for the wovencloth, specifically those yarns known as multi filament because of thelarge number of filaments in each strand makingup the 'yarn. These yarnsmay be woven into a cloth which is very suitable for cutting and edginginto different widths of ribbons for the various machines above mentioned, and is well adapted by its physical properties to'be impregnatedor padded with suitable ink-compounds as required for various operatingand functioning conditions.

One object of this invention is to Y provide a regenerated celluloseinking machine ribbon 5 which will produce sharp-writing.

Another object of this invention is to provide a regenerated celluloseinking machine ribbon constructed in such sizes of yarns, and counts ofcloth, as to give it the properties of great afiinity, 10'

absorption, and capillary attraction for suitably copying and recordingink-compounds.

Another object of this invention is to provide a regenerated celluloseinking machine ribbon which will produce well-defined and uniform im- 1pressions for recording and copying.

A further object of this invention is to construct, from a regeneratedcellulose yarn, writing and copying machine ribbons, comprising balancedand proportioned yarn sizes and thread .20 counts in the cloth therefor,which will insure longer wearing qualities, and less drying-out of theink-compounds.

A still further object of this invention is to construct machine ribbonsof proper yarn sizes made 25 of a regenerated cellulose, woven ofsuitable proportioned cloth counts, so as to permit the ribbon beingmade as thin as practical, consistent with proper strength anddurability, for the purpose of adding flexibility to the ribbon, therebyinsur- 30 ing additional multi-copying from the original impressionreceived from the machine type-eleq ment.

A-further important object involved in this invention is to construct amachine ribbon 01' a 35 regenerated cellulose yarn that is practicallyfree from epidermal scales or protruding fibers liable to break off orbe cut therefrom and which comingle with the ink-compounds and fill thetype or faces with deposits that harden and cause the 40 blurring ofwriting copy that is a usual defect of conventional ribbons.

varied physical properties. The viscose, nitrocellulose andcupra-ammonium are all involving the regeneration of the cellulosecompounds or solutions, whereas the cellulose acetate; process isnot theregeneration of the cellulose,

but involves esterification of cellulose. This last mentioned processgives entirely diiferent physical properties for its yarns, in that thestrength is lower than that of the regenerated cellulose yarns listed,and the hygroscopicity is materially lower, making it unsuitable for mypurpose.

It is important that the cloth for machine ribbonsmust possess greatstrength, this usually is taken between 70 lbs. per square inch to 100.

It is also important that the yarn havea large number of fine filaments,and today we have commercial yarns with a multiplicity of filamentsrunning down to 1 denier per filament, or

- even finer. This high filament count per thread weight being from .8to 1.8 or more deniers per filament.

with the foregoing explanation of the conditions and requirements that Ihave found to obtain in the adaptation of artificial silk to inkingmachine ribbons or ink-transfer means,'I now ,wish to impart mydiscovery to those familiar with the art, so that its value andcommercial practicability will be apparent, based upon actualexperimentation and practical consideration from observations in puttingthe invention into practice. a

As stated herein there are three commercial processes employed today ofthe regenerated cellulose base for the manufacture of artificial silkyarns, however, I might also mention that there are severalmodifications of these processes which alter the cellulose compoimds orcellulose solutions in such a way as to permit different physicalcharacteristics of the yarns, and for special purposa these changes seemto be warranted. For example, and referring more particularly to theherein called viscose process; suppose this yarn has a strength ofapproximately 1.40'grams per denier when made from a eellulose solutionof 8. per cent or cellulose base with 6 percent caustic soda, andprecipitated with an acid bath containing 10 per cent sulphuric acid.

It has beendiscovered thatbyehang'lng the] caustic soda to 5 per cent(calculated asNaOH) and increasing the acid bath concentration; as to 45to 55 per cent sulphuric acid monohydrate, the increase in the strengthof the yarn is brought up to approximately 4 to 6 grams per denier, thisY being; much stronger than true silk. This process is known as theLilienfeld and is classified in the regenera cellulose p. ThereforeIwishittobeunderstoodthatsuchaprocess or modification thereof is withinthe scope of my invention, -as long as the cellulose compounds orsolutions are regenerated to make the yarns inkabsorbent and ofsuificient strength- Conventional inking machine ribbons heretofere havebeen made usually from cloth having certain thread counts-per squareinch, that is to 150 threads in the warp, and 125- threads in thefilling, the cloth count therea,os4,oa1 I I fore being 275 threads, andthese threads are designated in numbers or sizes as 60, 80, 100, etc.,as known in the trade. The cloth itself has a thickness varying from .00to .008" or even heavier, depending'upon the duty expected of theribbon. It is found' that the thinner the ribbon the sharper" thewriting, but at the sacrifice of wearing qualities. It is importanttherefore that the yarn should be as strong as possible for the thinnerribbons.

In thepreferred embodiment of my invention.-

I use yarns, made by the regenerated cellulose process, which arecomposed of multi-filaments having a minimum of filaments per thread,and as many as 100 as a maximum, and con-' struct machine ribbon clothfrom sizes and counts of yarns within the following limits, or thenearest suitable commercial yarns:

Warp thread count..- 221-100 Fillingthreadcount-.-- 180-1!!! Warp size(denier) -100 Fillingsise(denier)-... 3H3) Thread filamcnts 1H0 Threadfihments 1H2) From the yarn sizes and cloth counts given above I am ableto construct machine ribbon cloth from 010th counts of 200 to 400threadsto the square inch, and varying in thickness from .002" to .010"or some heavier if desired, and

this specifically is new in the art and forms a part of my invention.

As a specific example of a cloth suitable for my inking machine ribbonsthe yarn sizes and clo counts may be constructed as follows:

Warp thread count. 100 Filling thread count 'l40 Warp size (denier) 40Filling size (denier) Thread filaments so Thread filaments. 30

Thus the count r the cloth is soo threadsor 9840 filaments to the squareinch, and the thickness of this cloth when finished and ready for theinkcompounds will be about .004". This 'cloth being a durable ribbon forthis severe service. -I have found the following constructionsatisfactory for such heavy duty ribbons where sharpimpressions are notessential:

thread count 100-150 Warp countu'... 100-140 Warp sire (denier) -h!).l'hread filaments 2H!) Filliugthrea'd Iillingsisflduier -110 2H0 As aspecific example the warp and filling were both made of denier yarnshaving 20 filaments, there being such yarns in the warp and 110 yarnsin] the fillin.g,'making 210 threads per square inch containing a totalof 4400 filaments of 5 deniers each. Such a ribbon may have upsufiicient ink to compare favorably with the best cotton'ribbons fordurability.

' It is seen from the above yarn sizes and cloth counts listed, that alarge number or kinds of constructions of machine ribbon clotharpossible, andldonotwishtolimitmyself anypar- =ticular construction,other than the limits of practicability or suitability within the sizesand counts mentioned herein.

a thickness of from .007" to .010", and will take yarns having not lessthan 20 filaments each and impregnated or padded with ink-compounds forthe purpose of recording and copying.

3. In an ink-transfer means, a textile fabric composed of an inkabsorbent spun cellulose base, said fabric comprising a plurality ofmulti-filament yarns having not less than 20 filaments each, treatedwith ink-compounds for the purpose of recording and copying byimpressions thereon.

4. In an ink-transfer means, a textile fabric composed of regeneratedcellulose yarns having not less than 20 filaments each, said yarnshaving a breaking strength of 1.40 to 6 grams per denier, and treatedwith ink-compounds, whereby a large number of impressions may be madethereon to produce recording and copying.

5. In an ink-transfer means, a textile fabric composed of a regeneratedcellulose yarn having not less than 30 filaments, said filaments havingan individual filament size'between .8 and 1.8 deniers, and treated withink-compounds, whereby impressions thereon produce recording andcopying.

6. An inking machine ribbon for recording and copying, composed ofaregenerated cellulose, and comprising a multiplicity of multi-filamentyarns-said yarns having not less than 30 filaments per thread, saidribbon being treated with ink-compounds and sinus thereon.

I. An inking machine ribbon cloth for recording and copying, composed ofa regenerated cellulose, and comprising a multiplicity of multifilamentyarns, said cloth having not less than 250 thread counts per squareinch, and said yarns not less than 30 filaments per yarn thread, saidcloth being treated with ink-compounds and adapted to receiveimpressions thereon.

8. An inking machine ribbon cloth for recordadapted. to receiveimpresing and copying purposes, composed of a regenerated cellulose, andcomprising a multiplicity of multi-filament yarns having not less thanthirty filaments, said filaments having an individual yarn size between.8 and 1.8 deniers. 9. An inking machine ribbon cloth for recording andcopying purposes, composed of. a regenerated cellulose, and comprising amultiplicity of multi-filament yarns having not less than thirtyfilaments each, said yarns having a breaking strength between 1.40 to 6gramsper denier.

10. An inking machine ribbon cloth i'orrecording and copying p poses,comprising a multiplicity of multi-filament yarns, having not less thanthirty filaments each; and composed of regenerated cellulose, said clothhaving not less than 250 thread counts. per square inch as a minimum.11. An inking machine ribbon composed of a woven fabric having the yarnsin its warp and filling comprising not less than thirty filaments eachand formed of ink absorbent synthetic material, such as regeneratedcellulose, impregnated with ink compound suitable for record or copyingpurposes.

12. An inking machine ribbon composed of a woven fabric having the yarnsin its warp and filling comprising not less than thirty filaments eachand formed of ink absorbent synthetic material, such as regeneratedcellulose, woven with a total count of not less than 300 yarns to thesquare inch, and impregnated with ink compound suitable for record orcopying purposes.

13. An inking machine ribbon composed of a woven fabric having the-yarns. in its warp and filling formed of ink absorbent syntheticmaterial and comprising at least 9000 filaments to the square inch, eachnot over 1.8 deniers in weight, impregnated with ink compound suitablefor record or copying purposes.

14. n inking machine ribbon fabric composed of closely woven regeneratedcellulose yarns each having not less than twenty filaments of suitablesizes woven with a total count of not less than 4200 filaments to theinch, whereby the fabric is rendered. ink absorbent and flexible.

15. An inking machine ribbon composed of a woven fabric having the yarnsin its warp and filling comprising not'less than twenty filaments eachand formed of ink absorbent synthetic material, such as regeneratedcellulose, woven with a total count of not less than 210 yarns to thesquare inch, and impregnated with ink compound suitable for record orcopying purposes.

16. An inking machine ribbon fabric composed of yarns made of syntheticmaterial, such as regenerated cellulose, having a multiplicity offilaments, for example over 4200 filaments per square inch, saidfilaments being of small size and substantial strength, for example,over 1.4 grams per denier breaking strength, whereby the fabric isrendered ink absorptive and durable.

17. An inking machine ribbon fabric composed of closely wovenmulti-filament regenerated cellulose yarns providing a uniform andstrong ribbon having not less than 9000 filaments per square inch of notmore than 1.8 denier per filament in weight and over 1.4 grams perdenier breaking strength, whereby the-fabric is rendered ink absorptiveand flexible.

18. An inking machine ribbon composed of a woven fabric having the yarnin its warp and filling formed of ink absorbent synthetic material andcomprising 'a count not less than 220 yarns per square inch, said yarnshaving a breaking strengthnot less than 1.4 grams per denier.

' 19. An inking machine ribbon composed of a woven fabric'having theyarns ofits warp and filling formed of ink absorbent synthetic-material,such as regenerated cellulose, composed of at least 9000 filaments tothe square inch, and woven with a total count of as much as 300 yarns tothe square inch.

' WILLIAM W. MoELRATH.

